Whats on your turntable tonight?

Ella Fitzgerald, "Ella in Berlin", Verve 9008, just released Japanese reissue in a superb remastering from the original analog tapes. As Red Trumpet quotes on its web site:

Her live performances are legendary and "Ella in Berlin" captures one of the greatest displays of jazz vocal improvisation in concert. Including her amazing rendition of "Mack the Knife", this recording showcases the virtuosity of Ella at the peak of her performing prowess.

Believe every word of the above. If you like Ella, this is a must have LP and this is the reissue to have.

Slipknot, glad you've had time to listen to the Mahler! Ah, and the Holst, as well. Has to be a good evening at your place. :-)
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Sonny Rollins - Tenor Madness [Prestige reissue mono LP] With Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. John Coltrane guests on the title track.

Sonny Rollins - Newk's Time [Blue Note Japanese reissue stereo LP] With Jones, Wynton Kelly and Doug Watkins. I especially like the unaccompanied sax + drums only treatment of "Surrey With The Fringe On Top". Rudy van Gelder recorded this date, and the stereo presentation is realistically understated - somewhat atypically for the era - rather than being rhythm in one channel and solo in the other.

Bach - Starker's Unaccompanied Cello box on Speakers Corner

Wow, what great sound! Just picked this up at CES, from our friends at Acoustic Sounds, who had a great booth setup, with nice sale prices and plenty to choose from. Two bad my poker winnings were one day AFTER the show, or I might have come home with a whole trunkload of vinyl...
Next up, my other purchases from Norah Jones(2nd) and Miles Davis(Bags Groove on 45rpm)...Cheers,
Spencer

Tonight...

"Church Choral Music", Stockholm Motet Choir, BIS LP 14 - a very early BIS recording of an amateur choir in Stockholm. The recording is the typical great engineering job on gets from von Bahr, but the choir is certainly lacking in ability, if not in enthusiasm. How many times can one be so off key and not stop??? Ouch.

Brahms: Hungarian Dances, Dorati/LSO, Mercury SRI 75024. Very nice performance of the Dances, full of verve and character. Both copies of this SRI sound pretty nice: quiet surfaces, tonally accurate, good bass, but just very slightly veiled and very slightly rolled off in the highs. Still, a keeper for the performance and the great Mercury engineering job that still comes through the Dutch remastering in decent sound quality.

Adam: Giselle, Martinon/Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, London STS 15010. A great performance of this work by Jean Martinon in a superbly engineered 1958 recording by Kenneth Wilkinson in minimally miked early Decca sound. The STS reissue sounds better than an earlier CS issue I once had: cleaner and more articulate, a better mastering. The now oop Speakers Corner reissue of this is better, but not by a great amount.

Sibelius: Finlandia, Mackerras/LondonPromsO, RCA LSC 2336, (45 rpm Classic Records reissue). One word: Wow! Another word: Superb! A great performance, another outstanding recording by the great Kenneth Wilkinson.
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Back to jazz, then on to classical...

Sonny Rollins: "The Bridge" - Classic Records reissue

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1, Martinon/LSO, RCA LSC 2322-45 Classic Records 45 rpm reissue - a great performance in great sonics. This LP includes Shostakovich's "The Age of Gold Ballet Suite" on the reverse side.

Gary Karr: "Adagio d'Albinoni" and other works by Bach Beethoven and Franck played on double bass, with organ. King SuperAnalogue 9125
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